I've been trying to understand just what it was that made so many people like them...and I finally cracked
it: they're fucking incredible. There is something about the way they play, a certain brutality that is just
infectious.

It may be obvious from your avatar, but besides Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals, here it goes:

1 - [b]Taking Back Sunday[/b] - [i]New Again[/i]

At least for me, this record it's their best since [i]Tell All Your Friends[/i]. Maybe I'm a TBS fanboy, but this record couldn't be released at a better time in my life than this year. Just like TAYF was the soundtrack of my days as a high school kid, New Again is the soundtrack of my young manhood.

2 - [b]Thursday[/b] - [i]Common Existence[/i]

Geoff Rickly does it again. This man is a legend, probably the Tim Kinsella of this decade. This record is fucking solid, awesome to those moments when I want to scream my lungs out.

3 - [b]As Cities Burn[/b] - [i]Hell or High Water[/i]

Addictive. One of the most catchiest songs of the year are inside this baby. Excellent record.

4 - [b]Manchester Orchestra[/b] - [i]Mean Everything To Nothing[/i]

This record, unlike so many others, deserves all the hype it gets. It isn't exactly what I'd normally listen but I can't get enough of it.

5 - [b]Japandroids[/b] - [i]Post-Nothing[/i]

Such an astonishing surprise. If that's a sign of the change of times, if this breeze of fresh air that it is Post-Nothing is just the tip of the iceberg, then hook me up with the new revolution.

6 - [b]The Decemberists[/b] - [i]The Hazards of Love[/i]

Beautiful. Probably will crawl its way up on my Top 10 until the end of the year.

7 - [b]Cursive[/b] - [i]Mama, I'm Swollen[/i]

Great record. Not their best, not their worst... but I'm a sucker for Cursive. Sue me.

8 - [b]The Dear Hunter[/b] - [i]Act III: Life and Death[/i]

Brilliant. Like any of The Dear Hunter records.

9 - [b]Emery[/b] - [i]...In Shallow Seas We Sail[/i]

Emery is back with a vengeance. Arguably their best record to date.

10 - [b]Alexisonfire[/b] - [i]Old Crows / Young Cardinals[/i]

I've just bought this one, and I think it could go up a little until the end of the year. I'm proud of this band for reinventing themselves. And I like the new direction. And yeah, I know most of people will disagree with me about this.